Shloka 21
Supremacy of Hari-Bhakti in Kali-yuga; Warnings on Sensual Attachment; Praise of Brāhmaṇas, Purāṇa-Listening, and Gaṅgā
नारीणां किल किं नाम सौंदर्य्यं परिचक्षते । भूषणानां च वस्त्राणां चाकचक्यं तदुच्यते
nārīṇāṃ kila kiṃ nāma sauṃdaryyaṃ paricakṣate | bhūṣaṇānāṃ ca vastrāṇāṃ cākacakyaṃ taducyate
عورت کا حسن آخر کیا کہا جاتا ہے؟ زیورات اور لباس کی چمک دمک ہی کو اس کا حسن قرار دیا جاتا ہے۔
Unspecified (narrative voice not provided in the input excerpt)
Concept: What society labels ‘beauty’ is often mere external display—ornaments and garments—hinting at the need to seek inner worth.
Application: Practice mindful seeing: appreciate aesthetics without attachment; invest more in character, seva, and sattvic habits than in display.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: hasya
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A palace corridor where a woman stands before a polished bronze mirror, her silhouette shimmering with jewelry and layered textiles, while a sage in the background watches with calm, instructive detachment. The scene subtly contrasts glittering surfaces with a quiet, unadorned lamp and prayer beads resting nearby.","primary_figures":["woman adorned with ornaments","didactic sage (unnamed)","attendant (optional)"],"setting":"Royal interior with carved pillars, textile drapes, mirror, jewelry casket; a small corner shrine implied by a lamp and conch.","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["ivory","ruby red","antique gold","peacock teal","smoky umber"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: richly dressed woman with heavy gold ornaments and silk garments, rendered with gold-leaf highlights; a calm sage at the side holding palm-leaf manuscript; ornate palace archways in deep reds and greens, embossed jewelry and halo-like motifs around the lamp of discernment.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate indoor scene with delicate textiles, restrained facial expressions; cool teal shadows, soft gold accents on ornaments; sage seated near a small shrine lamp, emphasizing quiet moral commentary.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: stylized figure with bold outlines and patterned jewelry; warm red-yellow-green palette; sage’s composed gaze and symbolic lamp foregrounded, temple-wall symmetry even within a palace setting.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: decorative border of lotus and floral motifs framing a central vignette—glittering ornaments contrasted with a small Vaishnava shrine lamp; deep blue background with gold detailing, peacocks in the border as symbols of beauty and vanity."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["anklet bells (faint)","silk rustle","temple bell (distant)","soft tanpura drone","quiet footsteps"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: चाकचक्यं → च + आकचकीयम् (a + a = ā). तदुच्यते → तत् + उच्यते (sandhi: d + u).
FAQs
It frames beauty as an externally perceived quality—specifically the dazzling appearance created by ornaments and clothing.
In this line, beauty is explicitly described in terms of outward adornment; it does not address inner virtues here, though other Purāṇic passages often do.
It can prompt reflection on the difference between appearance-based attraction and deeper qualities, encouraging discernment about what one values as “beauty.”